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Level 10

Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL

I've noticed that some restaurants have a "Menu" link in their GMaps description, in addition to--and often different from--the main link to their website.

 

Is there any way for us to edit that URL?  It doesn't show up along with the other fields in "Suggest an edit".

 

Thanks!

12 comments
Level 8

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL

Hi @OStr i think there's no obvious way to edit that data or flag it . so try to send a feedback for fixing that issue

Level 7

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL

Let the restaurant know that there is a problem with the link to their menu on Google Maps. 

 

One you've made that contact, leave it to the restaurant to deal the issue.

Connect Moderator

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL

When there is an uneditable link to a menu; that means it is a provider with which Google has an agreement to display their data, and also that the provider has a contract with that specific restaurant.  Google has such exclusive agreements to ensure the providers that are used have high quality results and also that they have the rights to publish the menus in the first place.

 

You should only be attempting to edit such features when they are in the URL field.  In the case of that field, only sites that are under the control of the business owner are permitted; and if there is a URL belonging to the business it should always be used over other sites.

 

May I ask what is wrong with the example you are looking at that makes you want to edit it?

Flash - LG Connect Moderator, Maps Platinum Product Expert, Map Maker Platinum Product Expert, RER and Regional Lead

Due to the volume I receive, I do not respond to unsolicited private messages

Level 10

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL

@Flash, Sure, if 5 West Brewpub & Kitchen wants their Menu link to direct people to a nonexistent website, it is entirely their right to do so.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "should only be attempting to edit such features when they are in the URL field". Shouldn't we strive to help local businesses by fixing all broken URLs?  Why should we only fix a restaurant's broken website URL, but not its menu URL?  Sure, as you say, they have the right to publish broken links, but does that mean we shouldn't try to help them fix it?

 

Saying "because they paid to publish it!" is neither here nor there. Many small businesses don't have the resources to monitor their online presence, which is where we, as LGs, can help. Telling us to keep our hands off certain items helps nobody, least of all the businesses.

Connect Moderator

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL

Thank you for providing links to the exact feature, until you do so all we can do is provide general advice.

 

The situation here is not as you are thinking.  To begin, a pub in Canada is not small business with low resources; they are multi-million dollar enterprises.  This particular pub is claimed via Google My Business, and thus the business has someone assigned to make sure they look correct on the map.  Of course that doesn't always happen, thus why we can then edit most of the features they set up.

 

In this particular case we are not talking about a third party website, but rather this place is The Purple Heather.  On their website they used specific code snippets to indicate to Google where the menu could be found.   They have since changed their name and website.  While they have both the new and old website hosted at the same place, they have not set up the proper HTML forwarding codes from the old to the new, which is the standard way such changes are done and would have seamlessly updated all search engines.

 

I am not familiar enough with the exact coding necessary to judge if the new website is properly set up to point to the new menus on it's own.  If it isn't, obviously then the issue is that they need to do so.  If it is, then this is a glitch and the business needs to contact GMB support to get this straightened out.  You could submit feedback, but I don't want to set your expectations that it will work; especially since there might not be an option to manually fix such issues, and even if there is the issue might later automatically revert to the old position if the snippets on the new website are not properly set.

 

As for why it's not available to us; that would be because restaurant hijacking is actually a very large component of spam, and thus if updating such features was available to you it would also be available to the spammers.  Working with only specific partners and/or using code that only the owner can insert into the website is what keeps down a lot of the spam.  While we can update a lot of what is on the map; limits in various places to prevent spam are unfortunately unavoidable.

Flash - LG Connect Moderator, Maps Platinum Product Expert, Map Maker Platinum Product Expert, RER and Regional Lead

Due to the volume I receive, I do not respond to unsolicited private messages

Level 10

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL


@Flash wrote:

As for why it's not available to us; that would be because restaurant hijacking is actually a very large component of spam, and thus if updating such features was available to you it would also be available to the spammers.


So...it's fine that anyone can suggest to change the name, address, phone number and website of the restaurant, but letting people suggest a new menu URL will open the door to hijackers and spammers?

 

@Flash, you seem to be going to great lengths to explain why something that is clearly a user-interface oversight is actually a "feature". No; Google did not lock down the Menu URL to protect from hijackers, while letting anyone change the restaurant's main website, phone number or even their name. If you don't know why GMaps is currently set up the way it is, it's perfectly okay to simply say, "I don't know".

 

As for "multi-million dollar enterprises", let me remind you of the Metro supermarket thread you were involved in. Metro is one of the largest supermarket chains in Canada, a multi-billion dollar business. And yet, they had wrong information posted online for months, and appreciated we brought it to their attention. The 5West pub is not a chain or a conglomerate. Businesses like that struggle to stay afloat, and many go under within a year or two of opening. They do not have a full-time marketing or online presence employee. It's regrettable that they chose to give their web business to Wix, but I don't think we should punish them for that. I don't understand your dismissive attitude towards attempts to help them.

Level 10

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL

And just to detach this from the specific example I gave, here's another one:  The White Brick Kitchen.

 

The website URL is correct, and includes a full menu. But the "Menu" URL links to a (likely paid) review of the restaurant on a local blog, not to the restaurant's menu. Whether or not they have the right to publish such promotional material on GMaps is debateable, but the fact remains that it is incorrect - that's not a link to the restaurant's menu.

Connect Moderator

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL

The website might contain a full menu, but no Menu Schema was placed in the HTML code to identify to the search spiders that it is a menu.  This is case of a website designer who doesn't know what he is doing.

Flash - LG Connect Moderator, Maps Platinum Product Expert, Map Maker Platinum Product Expert, RER and Regional Lead

Due to the volume I receive, I do not respond to unsolicited private messages

Level 10

Re: Editing a restaurant's "Menu" URL


@Flash wrote:

The website might contain a full menu, but no Menu Schema was placed in the HTML code to identify to the search spiders that it is a menu.  This is case of a website designer who doesn't know what he is doing.


True, there may be no Menu schema in the HTML code for that page, but I thought you said the entry for "Menu" is chosen manually by the business or those they hired to manage their online presence. GMaps uses HTML-based heuristics to confirm certain changes we submit, but I don't think they employ a web crawler to actively replace a URL selected by a business to one picked by the spider.